The Impact on Family Scale Revisited: Further Psychometric Data

Abstract

This article presents additional psychometric data and a revised scoring procedure for the widely used Impact on Family Scale. The analyses were conducted with three datasets produced by validation studies conducted at the originating institution with populations drawn from the same inner-city communities as the original sample. The instrument has one robust factor representing overall family impact. In addition, there are two subsidiary sets of items (financial impact and sibling impact) of possible interest to future researchers. The correlation of the previously published and new Total Score is .97. Data indicate that the Impact on Family Scale is an easily administered, reliable, and valid measure of a family member’s perception of the effect of a child’s chronic condition that can be used across diagnostic groups. The Impact on Family Scale fills a gap in the measurement of the psychological and social consequences of chronic disorders in childhood that can be useful in clinical and health services research.